Here’s what we know about Spotify’s lossless audio tier, which might be just around the corner.
It’s been years since Spotify announced a HiFi tier that would enable users to listen to their favorite tunes in lossless audio quality.
As other music services made high-fidelity audio part of a standard subscription, we can’t help but wonder whether the long wait for Spotify to catch up will be worth it.
Turns out, the giant may have more in store than just lossless audio, and we’ve gathered all we know about Spotify HiFi below. Let’s dive in!
What Is Spotify HiFi?
Spotify HiFi is a music streaming plan teased by Spotify that promises to address the growing demand for superior audio quality among music enthusiasts.
HiFi, short for “High Fidelity,” is a term used to describe audio with a high level of accuracy, which is as faithful as possible to the original recording.
Spotify HiFi might also pack additional perks like audiobooks, stats, and AI playlists, though details haven’t been confirmed at the time of writing.
When Is the Spotify HiFi Release Date?
Spotify HiFi should launch before 2023 draws to a close, according to Bloomberg.
The company first announced the lossless plan in February 2021, stating that users in select markets could upgrade sound quality in later months. Given that the launch hasn’t happened yet, we’re going with… any day now?
What Will the Spotify HiFi Plan Be Called?
The Spotify HiFi plan will reportedly be called Supremium.
Supremium would differentiate HiFi from the Premium option and signal benefits that go beyond lossless streaming.
What Features Can We Expect From Spotify HiFi?
Spotify HiFi will allow subscribers to stream tracks with better audio quality. The company has yet to reveal the technical details of its higher-quality streams but stated that music will be available in “CD-quality, lossless audio format.”
In 2017, Spotify tested 16-bit/44.1kHz streaming, which is on par with Tidal Hi-Fi. However, Supremium is rumored to provide up to 24-bit/192 kHz audio, matching the quality of its main competitors.
Besides lossless audio, Redditor Hypixely and inventor of the hashtag, Chris Messina, discovered references in the Spotify app’s code that suggest the HiFi plan will bring additional benefits, such as:
- Your Sound Capsule
- Listening stats
- Advanced playlist mixing tools
- AI playlist generation tools
- 20-30 hours of audiobook listening
Your Sound Capsule
With Your Sound Capsule, users might be able to create a music time capsule to open in a year. If that’s the case, the feature would be similar to Playlist in a Bottle, which popped up in January 2023.
While Playlist in a Bottle was only accessible for a limited time, Your Sound Capsule will likely always be available.
Listening stats
The Supremium tier might also feature advanced listening stats in the vein of Last.fm. The service lets users view stats in real time, receive weekly reports, and access their listening history whenever they want.
At the moment, Spotify doesn’t deliver users many insights into their listening habits. It has Wrapped, the highly-anticipated end-of-year recap, and the On Repeat playlist, which updates regularly. You can also go to your profile to see your top tracks and artists for the month on Spotify web.
Advanced playlist mixing tools
For those who want to create the perfect playlist, the Spotify Supremium plan might feature advanced mixing tools. Users could sort the songs in their playlists by BPM, vibe, mood, activity, genre, and so on.
AI playlist generation tools
Supremium subscribers might be able to create playlists with AI assistance, which is excellent news if you’re a fan of the AI DJ feature.
20-30 hours of audiobook listening
The Spotify HiFi plan is rumored to include 20-30 hours of audiobook listening. Spotify initially only made audiobooks available via purchase. Now, Premium users can listen to 15 hours of audiobooks every month as part of their subscription.
What Do Users Want From Spotify HiFi?
If you scour forum posts, you’ll notice a lot of enthusiasm for lossless streaming on Spotify, with users not so patiently waiting for the service to deliver.
However, they also have unique demands:
- Option to hide podcasts/audiobooks: Many users not interested in content that isn’t music would pay to hide it.
- Seamless recommendations: Some users want to recommend tracks to friends directly via Spotify rather than through social sharing features.
- For artists to be paid more: Spotify has been criticized for not paying artists fairly, so a lot of users would like them to get a higher portion of the company’s earnings.
- For Premium to stay the same: Some users fear that Spotify might remove features from the Premium tier to convince users to upgrade to HiFi or add appealing features solely to the HiFi plan moving forward.
How Much Will Spotify HiFi Cost?
The rumored price for Spotify HiFi is $19.99/month. This is almost double the $10.99/month Premium price. In comparison, Tidal and Apple Music offer lossless audio as part of their standard plans, priced at $10.99/month.
Whether the superior audio quality and added perks will make upgrading appealing for Spotify users remains to be seen. For now, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the plan will make its debut in the near future.
19.95 is way to much. May be half.
$19.95 pcm is a TOTAL RIP OFF!!! and for what at its best if you convince yourself (with hypnotherapy trance voodoo) that you can hear any difference anyway what is the actual up-cost to Spotify for providing a service that should have been available as Premium in the first instance?!?
I’d be willing to pay extra for lossless and high res audio. You can hear the difference between lossy compression and lossless audio on the right equipment (midrange and up), but it depends on your ears, too. I need Spotify for their coverage of music, but don’t like having another service just to enjoy HD. So fingers crossed for a release of Spotify HD soon!
We’re now in 2024, and still no HiFi option in sight, who’s surprised? After years and years of false promises it’s ridiculous to think that Spotify will ever release such a plan, they just say the same thing every single year so that their users keep waiting and don’t cancel their subscriptions, but at that point you’d have to be really naive to still believe them!